Women's Issues - South Asia Studies Project
September 16, 2010 Special Dispatch No.3237
Growing Honor Killings In the Indian Capital Region
In recent months, the Indian capital of New Delhi and its neighboring
states, particularly Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh,
have come into the limelight for the growing number of "honor
killings" that have been occurring in their jurisdictions. In most
cases, an honor killing is when young men or women are murdered by
relatives for deciding to marry against their parents' wishes. While
such cases have been reported in the past in the rural areas of India,
disturbingly new cases of honor killings are taking place in the urban
and semi-urban centers of the modern Indian republic. Most of the
recent cases have involved various castes of the Hindu and Sikh
communities, though such cases also occur among Indian Muslims.
In India, a marriage usually takes place within the same caste and
religion, or outside one's gotra (clan/lineage/sub-caste). However, a
changing India and new career options mean that boys and girls are
marrying outside their religions and castes, i.e. mostly of their own
choice. A person's membership of a caste is ascribed by birth. Lower
or higher social status is also dependant on the caste into which s/he
is born. Accordingly, a person is expected to marry within that caste
and beyond his or her gotra, a practice that ensures no cousin
marriage, which is disallowed in Hindu society, can take place.
Sometimes, even marrying within the same village can lead to the honor
killing of a couple. Honor killings may also include the murder of
young men and young women for marrying without parental consent, even
if such a marriage takes place within the same caste or religion. Such
young couples solemnize/legalize their marriages in a court.
The following examples illustrate the nature of honor killings in
India. In June in New Delhi, Dharmaveer Nagar, the uncle of a girl who
was killed by her brother for fleeing from home and marrying a groom
of her choice, defended the murder saying: "You may consider the
killing of an individual wrong, but for society, it was necessary."[1]
In the town of Ghaziabad in the Uttar Pradesh state, near New Delhi,
Ranvir Singh and his cousin were arrested in June for killing the
boyfriend of Ranvir Singh's sister, who is a minor, though she and her
boyfriend belonged to the same caste.[2] In May, a newly married woman
and her mother-in-law were hacked to death by the girl's family
members near the town of Amritsar in the Punjab province for marrying
against their wishes despite the fact that the girl, Gurleen Kaur, and
her husband Amarpal Singh both belonged to the same religion,
Sikhism.[3] In the Bhiwani district of the Haryana state, near New
Delhi, 18-year-old Monika and her boyfriend Rinku, both of whom
belonged to the Jat caste, were killed by her family members in June
for being in love. Their bodies were hanged as an exhibit from the
girl's family house for everyone to see.[4] The Delhi High Court
recently slammed the police for "conniving" with murderers in cases of
honor killings for money.[5]
Honor killings are socially approved and justified by khap panchayats
(courts/council of local elders), particularly in the state of
Haryana. In Delhi's Wazirpur area, local khap leader Ravinder Naagar
justified the murders of Monika and her husband Kuldeep by her
brothers, saying: "Why should we regret? They (Kuldeep and Monika) got
what they deserved. They broke the age-old traditions of our
community. They caused immense embarrassment to us [across
castes]."[6]
The spurt in the honor killings in the Indian capital region has
highlighted a shameful aspect of Indian traditions. On June 21, 2010,
the Supreme Court of India, which had recently observed that Indian
citizens should marry across religions and castes in keeping with the
secular foundations of the Indian republic, took notice of the growing
number of honor killings. Hearing a public interest petition by Shakti
Vahini, a non-governmental organization that sought clarity on the
government initiatives to prevent honor killings, the Supreme Court
issued notices to the federal government as well the governments of
eight northern and central states, asking them "to explain the steps
taken to prevent honor killings."[7] The governments of Haryana,
Punjab, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan
and Madhya Pradesh were ordered to respond to the petitioner's plea
for them to submit a National/State Plan of Action against honor
crimes.
The issue of honor killings in the Indian capital region is examined
in the reports below.
Women's Leader: "Killing Your Own Sons and Daughters in the Name of
Honor is Wrong; This is Talibanization"
As per Indian media reports, various women's groups have condemned the
growing number of honor killings in Delhi and its neighboring states.
Political groups have also condemned the killings, but they are afraid
of antagonizing the politically influential, vote-garnering khap
panchayats. According to one report, the ruling Congress Party called
for strictly dealing with the culprits behind the honor killings, but
"was careful not to comment... on the khap panchayats."[8]
Ranjana Kumari, the director of the Delhi-based Centre for Social
Research (CSR), expressed concern over the killings, saying: "This is
absolutely inhuman treatment for any society. This is not honor
killing... it is caste killing. Moreover, whose honor are they talking
about? Killing your own sons and daughters in the name of honor is
wrong. This is Talibanization, if you defy the so-called rules you are
killed."[9]
While it will take legislation against honor killings to be updated to
reign in the problem, the Indian government is under pressure to issue
an executive order to tackle the problem. Kumari's Center for Social
Research has begun an online signature campaign requesting Indian
President Pratibha Patil to ban such extremist justice.
The petition says: "India cannot afford to have a parallel justice
system, which undoes all the good that was ushered in by its founding
fathers. Also, the tyranny unleashed by khap panchayats on the pretext
of safeguarding tradition needs to be quelled under threat of severe
punishment."[10]
Moushumi Basu, a women's rights activist and member of the People's
Union for Democratic Rights, expresses concern that honor killings are
spreading in the region: "Earlier such incidents were limited to
Haryana and now it's in Delhi. I think it is the responsibility of the
state governments to curb such events."
Author Kalpana Sharma: "Modernity is Ensuring That Girls and Boys are
Getting Educated, Moving Away From Their Homes...; Yet, the Deadly
Reality of Their Lives is That on This One Issue of Marriage They
Really Have No Choice"
In an article in The Hindu newspaper, prominent Indian author and
journalist Kalpana Sharma observed that a change is needed in the
attitudes and traditions of Indian society in order to prevent honor
killings.
Following are some excerpts from her article:[11]
"The horrifying nature of some of the honor killings that have been
recorded – and there are probably many more that go unreported – make
one wonder how we can claim to be a civilized society. Statistics are
difficult to collate, as deaths due to honor killings are not listed
as such in the National Crime Records Bureau data. But we cannot deny
that their numbers are growing. According to one survey, there are at
least 100 honour killings each year in just [the states of] Delhi,
Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
"How do you define honor crimes? Human Rights Watch gives the
following definition: 'Honor crimes are acts of violence, usually
murder, committed by male family members against female family
members, who are held to have brought dishonor upon the family.'
"And how do you bring this 'dishonor' on your family? In India, this
translates into marrying into another caste, another religion or even
another class. On October 26, 2009, the reported murder of the
daughter of an Assistant Commissioner of Customs in Patna [the capital
of Bihar state], who eloped with the son of a Class IV employee, was
one such [an] instance where class was an issue.
"Only in one honor killing case so far, has the court come down hard
on those involved. In what will be seen as a historic judgment, a
court in Karnal, Haryana, sentenced to death five people and gave life
imprisonment to one for the murder of Manoj (23) and Babli (19) of
Karora Village in Kaithal district. Their crime? The khap panchayat
ruled that as they belonged to the same gotra they could not marry.
"The common thread that runs through all these incidents is the
decision of the boy and girl to choose their own partners rather than
letting families decide. And that is at the root of the societal
problem we face, irrespective of caste or creed or region. For,
modernity is ensuring that girls and boys are getting educated, moving
away from their homes, finding jobs, watching images of people of
their generation making free choices. Yet, the deadly reality of their
lives is that on this one issue of marriage they really have no
choice. And if they defy entrenched traditions and attitudes, they are
sentenced to death, no less.
"Can anything be done? Even if the deeper issue of societal change
cannot occur overnight, are there steps that can be taken to curb such
regressive influences?..."
"The law in any case can do only so much. What has to change are
attitudes and traditions. How can we talk of independence, or
empowerment, if on an issue as basic as marriage, women and men are
told they have no choice? And worse, that defying tradition means
inviting the death penalty. How can such a situation be accepted by a
civilized society? How many more young women, and men, must die before
some sense prevails?"
Editorial in Leading Indian Daily: "In Village After Village, Khap
Panchayats Have Hounded Out, Forcibly Separated, and... Murdered Newly
Married Couples"
In an editorial, titled "Barbaric practice," the leading secular
newspaper The Hindu recently stressed that legal changes alone may not
prevent the practice of honor killing, and added: "any enhancement of
the legal architecture must be complemented by social enlightenment
for results to prove enduring."
Following are some excerpts from the editorial:[12]
"Sardar Patel, the architect of [princely] states unification [with
India], was worried that Indian democracy would prove transient:
'Almost overnight we have introduced …the superstructure of a modern
system of government… unless the transplanted growth takes a healthy
root in the soil, there will be a danger of collapse and chaos.' In
the six decades since then, India's home-grown democracy has held
together beautifully – or so India is fond of telling the world. Yet
every so often this smug self-belief is shattered by incidents so
gruesome, so medieval that they serve to recall the Sardar's worst
fears. How can a nation cast in a modern, liberal democratic
framework, with a Constitution held up as a model to emulate and laws
that match the best in the world, tolerate the ugly phenomenon of khap
(caste) panchayats with their kangaroo court-style instant justice?
"For years, the panchayats, prevalent mainly in the North Indian
States of Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, have practiced
violence as if it was a credo, brutally and summarily punishing those
overstepping the redlines. This form of 'retributive justice' has
particularly targeted young men and women seeking to marry within the
same gotra. In village after village, khap panchayats have hounded
out, forcibly separated, and all failing, murdered newly married
couples – justifying the horrendous edicts as necessary to uphold
local culture and honor.
"In the first-ever conviction in a case of 'honor killing,' a Haryana
court recently sentenced five persons to death. The verdict has turned
the spotlight on the recurring crime, triggering widespread debate
followed by the promise of official action. Nonetheless, two concerns
arise. Given the frequency of this barbaric practice – in the last
year alone several couples have been strung up and the baby of a young
mother put up for sale – why do so few cases come up for trial? The
continued use of the term 'honor killing' is itself deeply disturbing:
it implies sanction for a system of patriarchy that stigmatizes women,
tying them to outdated notions of purity and chastity. Several
remedial measures have been suggested to rein in the khap panchayats,
including a separate section in the Indian Penal Code.
"However, any enhancement of the legal architecture must be
complemented by social enlightenment for results to prove enduring.
The khaps have become a law unto themselves because of social and
political support. At a recent khap maha panchayat [grand court],
members had the temerity to demand a new law to prevent same-gotra
marriages. Without a change in this reactionary attitude, India will
remain a country that ritually holds elections but falls way short of
a truly modern, liberal democracy."
Endnotes:
[1] www.timesofindia.com, India, June 24, 2010. All reports and
editorial in this dispatch have been lightly edited for clarity.
[2] www.timesofindia.com, India, June 22, 2010.
[3] www.timesofindia.com, India, May 13, 2010.
[4] www.timesofindia.com, India, June 21, 2010.
[5] www.indianexpress.com, India, June 17, 2010.
[6] www.mid-day.com, India, June 23, 2010.
[7] The Hindu, India, June 22, 2010.
[8] http://economictimes.indiatimes.com, India, June 24, 2010.
[9] www.hindustantimes.com, India, June 22, 2010.
[10] www.hindustantimes.com, India, June 22, 2010.
[11] The Hindu, India, May 15, 2010.
[12] The Hindu, India, April 8, 2010. The text of the editorial has
been lightly edited for clarity.
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